The Legend of Potter: A Link to Hogwarts
by ShinyTogeticFTW
Summary: Link/Knil (OC) romance? Maybe, not sure. Just so you guys know, this takes place between Marauders era and Harry's time at Hogwarts; Voldemort was defeated by baby Harry in 1981, Link & Knil will be attending Hogwarts from 1983-1990, and Harry started at Hogwarts in 1991. I promise it's completely HP canon-compliant! As for the LoZ part, IDK what game he's from but he doesn't talk.


Knil Gnissim. A most unusual name, to say the least. But, like any name, it was not chosen by the person who had to bear it. I certainly wouldn't have picked it myself… Of course, I had no say in the matter; it's mine.

I was just your average girl growing up… Well, aside from my embarrassingly strange name. I wasn't one of the popular kids, that's for sure. Was I the most picked-on? Eh, I was definitely a contender for the title, though not quite a shoo-in. But that was at my old school. Apparently I was getting transferred to a new one. I say 'apparently' because it was a surprise, even for my folks; a mysterious man in a purple suit just appeared at our door one day, holding an envelope that was addressed in green ink to me specifically:

Miss K. Gnissim  
The living room couch  
_2_ Inkumpleet Street, Apt. 3  
Vinings, Georgia, USA

My hands shook as I looked over it. There was just no way. How did he know I slept on the couch? Who uses underscores to represent numbers that are illegible on a mailbox? And, moreover, why would he have gone through the trouble of addressing it so elaborately if he was just going to deliver the letter in person anyway?

I don't know how long I stood there staring blankly at it, but it was like I came out of a trance when my dad walked up the stairs to the landing and saw the man standing there and me blocking the door. "'Nilly," my dad said, looking quizzically at the stranger, "who's this?"

"Oh, forgive me; I haven't introduced myself!" The man practically jumped as he turned to face my dad, held out his hand, and said, "I am Professor Dumbledore. I have come to discuss the future of your daughter's education."

"Well, come in, then," my dad said, accepting the Professor's handshake while discreetly shooing me back out of the way so he could usher our guest inside. Once we were all seated around the kitchen table, my father spoke again. "Knil's not is any trouble, is she? It must be something serious if they would send someone to our house…"

"Oh, I assure you it's nothing of the sort," Professor Dumbledore replied. "As a matter of fact, I am not from Miss Gnissim's current school; I am from what will be her new school, if it's not too much of an inconvenience."

"Is she in some sort of exchange program? Because I never–" my father began, but the Professor cut him off.

"Pardon me for interrupting, Mr. Gnissim, but it will be much easier to explain if Miss Gnissim would first read the letter I gave her. Provided she's done admiring the print on the envelope, of course," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

For the second time that day I snapped out of my reverie. Glancing nervously, apologetically at the man sitting across from me, I turned the envelope over and saw for the first time the seal that held it closed; it was a crest of some kind, with some animals around a capital letter H. I had dawdled enough already and my dad was not generally patient, so I opened the envelope by tearing the top in order to not destroy the seal – I wanted to be able to examine it more fully later.

The texture of the paper inside was rough and thick, much like the envelope it was in. I gingerly unfolded it and smoothed out the creases before reading aloud, "Dear Miss Gnissim, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"

* * *

The days that followed flew by like a whirlwind, everything that happened rapidly running together into such a blurred mish-mash that I can only recall bits and pieces of it clearly. As things are now, I couldn't tell you how many weeks had passed since I'd found out I was a witch before I was standing in a crowded train station with a large cart of school supplies.

"Ah, Miss Gnissim!" a voice called out. I turned to see where it was coming from; there was Professor Dumbledore, standing with a boy in an odd green outfit (although, compared to the man next to him, the boy's clothes weren't very conspicuous) who also had a full cart of things very much like what I had. They were beside a pillar that had a 9 marking one end and a 10 marking the other. "Over here, young lady!"

I approached as best I could, pushing my cart of things with a little difficulty toward where they were waiting. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore, sir," I said when I reached him, holding out my hand in greeting.

"Hello, dear girl," he replied, shaking my hand with both of his, "I'm so glad you got here all right. Very punctual as well; an admirable quality."

"Hi, I'm Knil," I said, turning to the boy, offering him my hand as well. The boy smiled and nodded – in recognition of my name, I assumed – and grasped my hand in his. I waited expectantly for him to introduce himself to me, but he didn't say a word.

"His name is Link," Professor Dumbledore informed me, "and he doesn't speak."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say beyond that; I had never met a mute before.

"You two are going to be classmates at Hogwarts; this is the first year for both of you," the Professor said, addressing the boy and myself.

Just then there was a shout of "_Hurry up!_"

"I know, I know, I mustn't keep our new students waiting," Professor Dumbledore muttered as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a pocket watch. "I was just about to guide them to Platform 9¾."

"_Hurry up!_" At this point I realized it must've been his watch that had shouted; so many things were different now that I was a part of the magical community... I just hoped I wouldn't be the only one at the school to be surprised by things so out-of-the-ordinary.

Professor Dumbledore sighed as he put the bossy timepiece back in his pocket. Turning to me he said, "It is correct, I need to get you two on the Hogwarts Express. It wouldn't do for you to miss the train on your first day."

I looked around at the tracks on either side of where we stood: to the left there was a long black train that had just left and was almost out of sight, while on the right there was a yellow one pulling in; it would probably not be leaving again any time soon.

I looked at him quizzically, and as though he read my mind he said, "It's not here."

"Well then, where–" I started to ask.

"It's on the other side of this column."

"Okay, how…?"

"Just walk straight through it. It's not even really there," the Professor added with a wink.

"…Alright," I muttered, turning to face the pillar. I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead as I pushed my cart forward, watching to see if it would really pass through; to my surprise it did, so I sped up a little. As my body passed through the magical barrier, it felt almost as though I had stepped through a thin curtain; just a gentle sensation, not hot or cold, like the touch of a feather.

Now on the other side, I could see a brilliant red steam engine stopped alongside the platform, spewing smoke as it let out a long, low whistle. It was a moment before I noticed that Link had come through the barrier and was now standing beside me, looking up at the train as well.

"Oh… Hi, Link," I said nervously, "Um, shall we climb aboard?"

* * *

Now sitting across from Link aboard the Hogwarts Express, I began to examine the seal from the envelope that my Hogwarts letter had come in. Upon closer inspection I saw that the four animals pictured on it were a lion, a snake, a badger, and an eagle.

Suddenly, something moved in my peripheral vision; I looked up and saw that Link had shifted forward slightly in his seat, as though surreptitiously trying to see what I was holding. When he realized I had noticed, he blushed and turned to look out the window.

"It's okay," I said to him, "you can look if you want."

He nodded shyly, then came over to sit in the empty seat next to me.

Showing him the seal, I pointed at the badger and said, "I like this one. Which one is your favorite?"

Smiling widely, he pointed at the lion.

"Oh, so you like the lion?"

He nodded.

"That's pretty cool. Have you ever seen a real lion before?"

He gave a sort of half-smile before shaking his head.

"I saw one at a zoo once…"

His eyes widened in interest.

"It was actually a lioness – a female – so it didn't have a mane like this one does. She was pacing back and forth in her enclosure, and she was roaring really loudly."

Link's eyes sort of glazed over as I spoke; I think he was using my description to imagine what it would have been like to see.

"I never got a chance to see the badger up close, though; he was hiding in his burrow when I came by."

Link frowned and looked at me sadly, apologetically almost.

"Hey, it's alright; maybe I'll be able to see one when we get there… Do you suppose they have these animals at the school?"

He tipped his head from side to side, as though tossing the question around in his mind while he tried to decide on an answer. After a moment he stopped and just shrugged. In spite of myself I giggled; for someone who couldn't talk, he sure knew how to express himself.

When he looked strangely at me I said, "I've never met anyone quite like you before, Link. You're pretty cool. Do you want to be friends?"

His face lit up at those words, and he nodded fervently.

We sat together in silence for quite a while after that; the fact that Link couldn't talk meant casual conversation was out of the question, so I took the time to really get a good look at him. He was wearing plain white pants and a green tunic, accessorized with a brown belt and brown boots that almost came up to his knees. What caught my attention above all, however, was the floppy green hat he wore on his head, the dark blond locks nestled below it, and the pointed tips of his ears peeking out from under them.

It wasn't until I heard a woman's voice in the distance that I even realized I had been staring – and, even more embarrassingly, that Link was staring back at me – so I quickly apologized to him.

Link smiled at me and shook his head slowly in response, as though saying I had no reason to say I was sorry, before he averted his eyes to the window.

I smiled back and whispered, "Thanks," just as a pushcart pulled up to the door of the compartment we were in.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" asked the lady who was wheeling it down the corridor.

"Um, sure," I said, standing up and walking over to her. "What do you have?"

"Licorice Wands, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum–"

"Wait, did you say jelly beans?"

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," she corrected me.

"Can I see what they look like?" I asked sheepishly.

The woman pulled out a striped rectangular box that sort of looked like a circus tent, and through a clear plastic window in the side I saw that it was indeed full of jelly beans.

"I'll take one of them… or, wait a second…" I turned to Link. "Do you like jelly beans, Link?"

He looked up at me in surprise, then nodded quickly before looking back out the window.

"Two boxes, please," I said to the woman. I hesitated when she told me the price; I was expecting dollars and cents, but that wasn't what I heard.

Pulling out the drawstring pouch of wizard money Professor Dumbledore had given me when he was explaining everything to my father and me, I reached in blindly and fished out a handful of silver and bronze coins. The lady then took what I assumed was the correct amount before giving me the jelly bean boxes and continuing on her way to the other end of the train.

"Here you go, Link," I said as I returned to my seat, holding out one of the boxes to him, "this one is for you."

His reaction was the last I would have expected; his eyes widened in surprise and he held up his hands between us and waved them back and forth in what was clearly a gesture of 'no, I couldn't possibly.'

"But… I got it for you… you said you liked jelly beans…"

Here he bit his lip and rubbed his arm nervously, looking away as though he regretted it.

"I want to share with you," I insisted. "It's what friends do."

Color rose to his cheeks as he glanced back at me, then he cupped his right hand and mimed pouring something into it with his left.

"Oh, you don't want a whole box, is that it?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded, so I smiled back.

"Tell you what," I said as I put one of the boxes in the heavy, oversized suitcase that all my stuff was packed in, "we'll split one box now, and I'll save the other one for later, okay?"

He blinked and nodded slightly, giving me a half-smile that seemed to show a reluctant acceptance of the compromise.

I smiled back at him as I ripped open the top of the box and looked inside. "Here," I said, holding it out to him, "you pick the first one and we'll take turns, okay?"

He sighed resignedly and reached in, pulling out a red one with yellow splotches and popping it in his mouth.

"How's it taste?" I asked him, expecting a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

As he chewed it, he took longer pauses between each bite, and his lip started curling up in disgust.

"Not a good one, huh?"

He shook his head uncertainly, then fanned his mouth with his hand.

"Oh, it's spicy?"

He nodded fervently.

"Well, I like spicy stuff, so I'll take a bite of one that's the same flavor and maybe I'll like it."

He nodded once again, then swallowed with apparent difficulty before sticking out his tongue in accordance with the universal 'that was disgusting' face.

I couldn't help but laugh a little at that as I sifted through the box looking for another red bean, but the look on his face when I looked up again made me feel extremely guilty. "Oh, I'm sorry, Link; I didn't mean to make fun of you, but your reaction was priceless…"

He frowned at me, but not in a spiteful way; it was more like a 'yeah, alright, fine, whatever' kind of thing.

Holding a red jelly bean by one end in between my thumb and forefinger, I bit off half of it and began to chew. "Bleurgh!" I almost spat it right back out again, but caught myself and covered my mouth with the back of one hand before I managed to swallow it. "Cherry!" I declared as I pulled my hand away and turned it up so that when I let go of the remaining half of the bean it landed in my palm.

Link leaned forward, looking between my face and the bean, before he snatched it from my hand and popped the rest of it in his mouth with a smile.

"I thought you said the red one was spicy!?" I declared, not even realizing until the words escaped that I was implying that he had not only spoken, but also lied to me.

He didn't take offense, however; instead, he replied by taking the box of jelly beans from my other hand and digging through it. A minute later, he pulled out two beans and held them out in the palm of his hand; one was a deep, solid red, while the other was red with yellow splotches. He placed the box between his knees and then held the hand with the beans in it out to me, pointing first to the splotched one and then himself, then to the solid red one and to me. Then, he picked up the solid one, held it in front of his face so that I would see him wink, and then ate the solid red bean. He smiled again, indicating that he liked the cherry flavor, then sort of flipped his other hand around so that the yellow-splotched red bean half-rolled half-jumped from his palm to between his thumb and fingers before he held it out towards my face as though he intended to place it straight into my mouth.

I started to tell him no as I raised my hand to his, fully intending to take the bean myself, but the moment he saw the opening he tossed it onto my tongue. My mouth snapped closed in shock, and he giggled silently. After a couple of seconds, I maneuvered the bean to between my teeth and bit into it, reveling in the spicy taste that I had been expecting from the cherry bean that I had mistakenly taken earlier. "Mmm," I commented as I chewed and then swallowed it, "cinnamon! My favorite!"

And so the two of us whiled away the train ride to Hogwarts by eating our way through a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans cooperatively, splitting each new flavor we found in half and sharing in the wonder – and the _magic_ – of the assortment.

* * *

**A/N: To be continued... I think. ^.^; I haven't got anything else except some non-contiguous stuff (which is formatted kinda weird, so I'd have to rework it to make it fit) and, oddly enough, a timeline with a few major events listed. Honestly? I've no clue when I'll work on this again. Sorry! It's a cute little story so far, though, right?  
**


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